Conventional delivery of parcels to residences and businesses requires that someone personally receive the parcel from the carrier and sign an acknowledgment of receipt. If the delivery is to occur at a private residence, the resident must be home at the time the carrier arrives. Alternatively, one can sign or authorize a release form, whereby the carrier will leave the parcel on the doorstep, porch or elsewhere unattended. If a parcel is to be delivered to a business, someone must be present at the business to accept the parcel. Finally, a recipient can go to the carrier's location during its business hours of operation and pick up the parcel personally. The fact that the delivery must be made to a person capable of receiving the parcel or that it must be left unattended and unsecured is cumbersome.
Likewise, conventional shipping methods require that someone personally give the parcel to the carrier or leave the parcel unattended outside so the carrier can pick it up. Transferring the parcel to the carrier can take place at the carrier's location or at the sender's location. Shipping methods have developed to include free-standing deposit drops for small parcels at select locations. However, there is a significant limitation on the size of the parcels that may be shipped in this manner. Moreover, this does not provide significant convenience for the individual wanting to ship a parcel from his/her residence.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method of delivery that is sufficiently secure to avoid the necessity of personal contact for guaranteed delivery. What is further needed in the art is such a method for delivering and shipping parcels that provides automated notification that the parcels are in transit. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.